I really like mine for any multi-day trips (4+) the pockets are nice because you can store shelter outside creating an even more cavernous interior. The frame is sufficient and works well. The pack (straps and belt especially) is extremely comfortable. At 27 oz. or whatever it's afantastic volume-to-weight-to-bells and whistles ratio(s). Lid pocket and non-picky mesh are great too. Swallows my BV450. Cons - I rarely get to take trips that require it, i.e., too big for most of what I do. Maybe this winter. It replaced my GG Vapor Trail and has been so much better in so many ways.

I had been looking for a larger capacity sack for family trips and longer solo trips for sometime. I was really keen to try out an HMG pack or especially an Elemental Horizons pack. However, the 25% sale made my go with a Mariposa (despite the now high shipping costs to New Zealand - double what I paid a couple of years back!!).

I love the fit and carry of my Goriila, so in the end it made sense to go with a pack I knew had a very high chance of working for me. I will also probably use the Mariposa for solo 3-4 day trips as well, as my gear is quite bulky (fleece and synthetic puffy) and I was having to use the side pockets all the time with the Gorilla. This was great most of the time, but sometimes mesh side pockets are a real pain in New Zealand.

Received my Mariposa very promptly from GG. It is very nicely put together. The new fabric is great and construction quality has gone up a notch from my older gorilla, which was a bit lacking in certain areas.

Unfortunately I don't think the pack is going to work work well for me. The new shoulder straps are much stiffer than in the old design and have pronounced J curve now. They are also wider because the foam now extends right to the edge of the straps on both side. They are also sewn on wider apart at the top of the sack. I think for most people the new design will work better. However I am a stick insect 6 foot, most of which is leg, and only 38 inch chest and the straps just aren't comfortable for me.

I need a pack with narrower softer straps. However, it gets really expensive shipping stuff from the USA just to try out. Gossamer Gear postage was VERY EXPENSIVE at about twice what everyone else charges to ship to me here in New Zealand and twice what I paid when I got my Gorilla.

The old style Mariposa would work best for me, so I will probably try and sell this one here in NZ and look for an older style pack on gear swap. Or I may offer to swap it with some one for an older style Mariposa, if they were to pay both our shipping costs. Would have to run a few numbers first to see if that would make economic sense for the other party. Or I may just keep using my cannibalised Berghaus. pack for family trips.

For those of you that have used the new Mariposa, how is the weight transfer to the hips? I recently tried out multiple sizes of a ULA Catalyst and couldn't seem to get very effective weight transfer compared to my Osprey Volt 60. I like about 80% of the weight on my hips.

Do you all think the Mariposa would be closer in terms of weight transfer to the ULA pack or the Osprey? I'm currently trying to decide whether or not to start carving up my Osprey for weight savings or to return it and give another ultralight pack a try. Seems like the Mariposa would be the next obvious candidate...

The short answer is the Kalais is one of the best backpacks I have ever tested, and I have tested a lot of packs. As with the Aquilo, Elemental Horizons got (almost) everything right the first time, and the Kalais is another winner(In response to my review comments, Elemental Horizons has corrected the problem with water bottles falling out of the side pockets by widening the bottom of the pockets so the bottles now sit deeper in the pockets).

The four-pull hipbelt tightening system on the Kalais is remarkable, it allows you to tighten the top and bottom of the wide hipbelt separately, conforming the hipbelt around the hipbone, allowing the pack to comfortably carry heavier loads, with total weight transfer, and not slipping off the hips.

Elemental Horizons uses a removable contoured aluminum stay that is similar to the one used by Gossamer Gear and Six Moon Designs, but its integration into the pack is much better. Rather than a simple straight sleeve on the inside of the backpanel, the stay is more solidly anchored at the top and bottom of the pack, so it transfers weight to the hipbelt better, as my testing results indicate.

Elemental Horizons’ Aquilo pack, which received the coveted Highly Recommended rating from Backpacking Light Magazine (subscription required to read the article), you pick the materials and features you want for your pack ,the Aquilo sounds like the size you are looking for. Here are some photos of packs in different materials he has made.